Easel clip



Feb. 18, 1969 I c, v. cow 3,427,695-

. EA-SEL CLIP I Filed July 19, I967 INVENTOR. CHARLES V. COWAN BY 'ATTORNE United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a spring loaded for holding sheet material to one edge of a flat mounting board or easel. The clip comprises a pair of elongated gripping arms connected together at one end by a web portion that urges the arms together and a handle member fixed near the free end of onegri'pping arm.

This invention relates to an improved clip or clasp for holding sheet-likearticles in place on easels or drawing boards and the like.

In presenting visual material for display or teaching purposes it is often desirable to attach the material temporarily to a plane upright surface such as provided by a display board or easel. I discovered that a metal clip placed over the upper edge of the display board or easel was useful for temporarily retaining such sheet material in the desired manner. A particularly eifective clip is one formed of a unitary piece of resilient but strong sheet metal having a pair of elongated gripping arms which are normally urged firmly together by an interconnecting spring web portion at one end. A considerable clamping strength of these gripping arms is required in order to hold sheet materials of various thicknesses. Heretofore, this requirement made such clips difficult to open when they were initially attached to the edge of the easel and when sheets of material were inserted after the clip was in place. In fact, prior to the present invention it was essentially a two-handed operation to open such a springtype clip in order to insert new material into position to be clamped.

A general object of the invention is to provide a clipping device for holding sheet materials temporarily on boards or easels that can be easily manipulated even by small children.

Another object of the present invention is to solve the aforesaid problem by providing a clamping-type clip of relatively simple construction whose gripping arms that normally tend to press together can be easily separated when the clip is in place along the edge of a mounting board or easel. This objective is accomplished by an easily graspable handle member attached to one of the gripping arms which is shaped and positioned on the arm and thus operative in cooperation with the clip as a whole to enable the gripping arms to be easily separated.

Another object of my invention is to provide a clip device as described wherein one of the gripping arms has a protuberance on its inner surface that concentrates the gripping force of the arm at a relatively small area.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a sheet material mounting clip as described which is particularly adapted for ease and economy of manufacture.

Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof, as shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing a pair of clips according to the present invention as they appear in use on a plane mounting device;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front elevation view of a clip embodying the principles of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary view in side elegation and in section of the clip shown in FIGS. 1 an 2;

FIG. 3a is a fragmentary view of a modified form of the clip device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of my clip on a mounting device; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view similar to FIG. 4 showing its gripping arms being opened.

Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a pair of clips 10 embodying the principles of the present invention as they appear typically when in use on an easel 12 or a similar type of mounting device for holding one or more sheets 14 of material in place for display on a plane surface.

In the form shown, the clip has a main body formed from a narrow strip of sheet metal such as resiliently flexible steel. The body is comprised of a pair of elongated front and rear gripping arms 16 and 18, respectively. At one end these arms diverge slightly and then are joined together by a generally C-shaped central web portion 20. It is this latter web portion that provides the spring force which normally urges the gripping arms tightly together. Although the clip shown provides for the gripping arms and their interconnecting web portion to be formed as an integral one unit, it is understood of course that they could be separate elements that are connected together to provide the same gripping action.

The front arm 16, as shown in FIG. 2, is normally longer than the rear arm 18 and at its end is a turned up flange 22 which helps to facilitate the insertion of sheets between the gripping arms. Attached to the front arm near the upturned flange at its outer end is a handle member 24 which provides a means for pulling the gripping arms apart. In the embodiment shown, the handle member has a disc-like body 26 formed from a suitable hard, rigid material such as molded plastic. Centrally located on the inside surface of the handle body, as shown in FIG. 3, is a neck portion 28 of a smaller diameter that holds the body away from the front gripping arm 16 and makes it easy to grasp. The outside of the body has a central recess 30 within which is retained the head end 32 of a suitable fastener 34 such as a rivet. The latter extends axially through the center of the disc-like body 26, its neck portion 28 and also through the front gripping arm 16.

Aligned with the handle member and extending from the inside surface of the front gripping arm is a protuberance 36 which increases the gripping power of the clip by serving as a friction means for holding a piece of sheet material in place such as a particularly smooth surfaced paper. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, this protuberance comprises the slightly upset end portion of the fastener which also serves to hold the handle means firmly in place on the gripping arm. Since this protuberance 3-6 is relatively small compared with the surface of the gripping arm it concentrates the spring force of the gripping arm at a small area and thereby provides increased gripping power. Other forms of protuberances may be used to achieve similar results. For example, as shown in FIG. 3a, I may cover the fastener end portion 36 with a washer-like member 38 which may have a serrated surface to increase its frictional holding qualities and be conveniently formed from a suitable rubber or plastic material.

The clips 10 may be used in pairs or singly, depending on the type and thickness of material that is to be supported on an easel or any suitable flat mounting surface and how much clamping force is required. For example, generally two spaced apart clips are preferred for holding a large tablet of paper or a plurality of sheets on an easel, as shown in FIG. 1. However, a single clip will generally suffice where only a small number of sheets or less are to be retained. The clip normally fits over the edge of the mounting board 12, as shown in FIG. 4, its elongated gripping arms 16 and 18 being urged firmly against the opposite board surfaces by its spring connecting member 20 at the top end. The clip is initially installed on a board with unusual ease by merely grasping it by the handle member 24, placing the rear gripping arm 18 in back of the mounting board and pulling the front gripping arm 16 outwardly as the clip is pulled downwardly onto the board. When a sheet is to be inserted beneath the front gripping arm, the handle is easily grasped in the same manner (FIG. 5 and pulled outwardly. A sheet can be pushed upwardly beneath the front arm before the latter is then released to its gripping position. It is apparent that the insertion of sheets beneath the clips can be done quickly and with one hand and even by small children, thereby providing an extremely useful and efiicient retaining device.

To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

I claim:

1. A device for retaining relatively thin articles on a mounting board comprising:

a bifurcated body including a pair of elongated gripping arms, one of which is shorter than the other and means connecting said arms at one end and normally urging them together near the other end;

a handle member near the unconnected end of the shorter gripping arm for pulling it away from the other said gripping arm when the device is on said mounting board;

and fastener means on said handle member extending through the shorter said gripping arm for securing said handle member thereto, said fastener means having a portion on its inner end forming a protuberance extending from the short gripping arm and serving as a friction means for preventing the slippage of smooth sheet articles.

2. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said handle member includes a central neck portion and said fastener means comprises a rivet extending through said neck portion.

' References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 192,834 7/1877 Lopez.

216,657 6/ 1879 Cochrane 2466 1,452,341 4/ 1923 Iacquemin 24259 1,493,072 5/1924 Fricker 24259 1,611,032 12/1926 Hight et al. 2480 1,696,908 1/ 1929 Fricker 2466 2,100,269 11/1937 Roche 2411 XR 2,061,385 11/1936 Nadler 2480 DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner. 

